It was inevitable that we would read this story African-Americans in Florida feeling that their votes will not be counted and that somehow things will go wrong for Obama. It is more than a sensitivity here – it is not that they are taking issue or protesting it, but the slouching apathy that disenfranchisment naturally would create may itself the the greatest enemy of voters. If the Republicans win this one as even I have predicted (due only to unauditable voter machine deceit) – the one prediction I can firmly state – I very much hope to be wrong about! Not all the predictions on this column have been accurate, just most of the big ones, perhaps. Seeing GW Bush as a disaster before he took office I can attribute to a warning from a very wise friend that prompted me to understand the Bush family dynamics playing out in the American government. Invasion of Iraq was inevitable. The ego of GW Bush seemed to have a lot to do with that. But the world was not helped no matter the justification. The USA feels a “responsibilty” to intervene in the world. But it becomes its own worst enemy as it starts to resemble that which it rails against.

An Obama presidency would make for more interesting times, but watch out for them voting machines misrepresenting the will of the people.

Derivatives that are maturing around about now, these credit default securities are a real danger to the world financial system.  The G8 met and the crisis does seem to be responding to rescue attempts to return liquidity to the market.  The crisis is a lack of liquidity – so the medicine seems obvious.  To a thief.

To get America out of this legendary mess will require regulation and productivity.  We have to accept that the market was held falsely high and that returning and surpassing that false growth can be achieved with real growth.

Benefitting the envionment.

It is certainly an opportunity to rethink money and value for effort. Capitalism may seem to work but constant and hidden inflation makes personal savings and independence of Government interference a lie. But by making the environment more valueable, the value of land increases and we return to an overboiling housing market? Ironic.

Lockwood Smiths comments about immigrant workers seem like a shot in the foot or more so foot in mouth syndrome. Bringing race into the election sphere at this time is not a good move by National already Dr Smith is apologizing for the comments he made stating they were taken out of context. It’s just what this country needs is another red neck sheriff in government. I wonder how it feels from the immigrant workers point of view here we have a contender of government openly classifying workers by their heritage or creed and that is blatant racism and Dr Smith should very much apologize. At this point of time I call this “Lockwood Smiths comments of shame” a very low point for National leading up to the election it makes you wonder what National are going to come up with next maybe if they do win they will have a good ole saloon get together themed with country music to top it off I can see the catch phrase now “howdy partner I’m sheriff Lockwood, I’m new in town ready to section your reservations by creed”.

Gordon Brown recommends the rescue of the world economy “his way”.  Is this socialism to the rescue of capitalism?

How can risk that is not a risk to the purchaser or even a specific contract – be insured for multiple investors? There has been much enrichment by bold manipulation of the financial markets.  By accumulating profit on the same risk repetatively the market stretched the law intentionally to lace their pockets with millions while the rest of us pay taxes to replenish the inflated machine.

Derivatives have been hugely inflationary.  When you read that there are 61 trillion in unpaid derivatives the inflationary effect of spending that is justified against fake contracts with no inherent value suddenly demanding cash. What about the ones paid by the 700 billion dollar bailout?

For example, if I were to take out a security against the failure of Lehman Bros, knowing they were in grave difficulty, as a sort of hedge, and then buy the same insurance contract again, or tell others about it, so they also can buy insurance contracts against the same risk – you have a stacked deck of cards.  In fact you have shipping crates of stacked decks of cards.  Model all of the cities on earth in playing cards, and imagine that massive house of cards collapsing.  That is like a small portion of the house of cards that is scheduled to collapse.

The resultant bank failures would be extraordinary.   Presidet Bush acted before he understood the nature of the gift his policies excited in his own “free market” has now invaded the world, but most of all it has been a hit to America.

His latest gambit – to attempt to seal the deal with his name on it before its too late – now finds him in an argument with Nicolas Sarkozy, or will he have to confront the unelected, socially perhaps less agile, and yet the voice of reason when it comes to rescuing the economy from this farcical exposion of utter greed and opportunism.

A better path for America would be to retroactively legislate against any multiply booked contract of an insurance nature so that it is just paper that carries no liability.

President Bush has now followed the example brilliantly set by Gordon Brown, an almost socialist manouvre, logical and yet fair – the nationalisation of a good chunk of the ownership of the banking system.  Therefore returning to the taxpayer some value

Throwing cash at the broken derivatives defends the final owners from breakage, bankruptcy, whatever you want to call it.  The next creditor gets hit instead.  Unfortunately there are so many derivatives and houses on the block – it is probably cheaper to bail them all out than the social cost of letting them fail.

But making 9 banks sign on to Government guarantees oils the ceased banking system.  If they still treat certain accounts with dread as though filled with disease or toxic faith – well that is no reason not to lend to budding businesses and people wanting to buy a house.  In other words maintain business as usual and deter the correction until the democrats have the presidency…

It is probably a bit like that.

The economic disaster was brought about by the doctrinal faith in “the Market” to act the best way possible, until it actually eats itself thousands of times over in a lemming like persuit of assets that had no real value or worse a parasitic value based on the “unlikely” failure of major banks which was bring brought about by rogue traders.  Has anyone considered if this is not the second 9/11?  It seemed to get a head of steam in September, but the problems are far too old and have been inherent in the US system for over 10 years.  It is more the uninformed or criminal disregard to the signs that things were not as good as they seemed.  Real value seems to have become something that the tax payer should support. It is like global warming deniers.  Maybe the problem will sort itself out.  Trust the market, it may have caused this mess, but it is the best way out.  Mr McCain – people only ride rafts out of volcanoes in fiction.

Mr McCain, I believe that like Kennedy, Mr Obama is more capable of pulling the trigger than you are on Iran, if needbe.  But I think he is also more capable of not going to war over a resolvable negotiation.  Iran is possibly more afraid of Nuclear Pakistan, Israel, USA and possibly France – it does not need nuclear weapons though no doubt if it does obtain one, it will announce it.  But it will soon realise that the politics of the security council will prevent them using it, no matter the heat under its collar.

John Key has stated national has a zero tolerence to violent crimes. This seems like something we should expect from Rodney Hide. Election time again and the right wing is trying to buy our votes with promises on crime policies. They dont mention the cost of imprisoning these culprits. They just want to buy our votes in the mean time and worry about the cost later. The cost for this would be in the millions and does locking up the culprits really deal with the problem? Maybe they are going to buy a lotto ticket and hope that funds thier cause. The government released figures about our financial position not being good for the next year its like they are setting up the next ruling government for a fall, with promises from the right of more cells to lock away our problems seems short on resolving the issue at hand. Violent crime will always happen we are after all all human. Topics such as education will reduce violent crime, violence is carried over from generation to generation its typical for it to remain or pass via family situations i.e father beats mother son does the same with his spouse and so on. Simply locking them away and forgetting about the problem wont work or wont resolve the problem at hand. Education is needed to stop violence migrating from generation to generation. John Banks is showing a lack of understanding regarding the issue when he thinks he has the best policy to deal with it, its typical of a politicians election promise all thought no reality.

National want to carve up Kiwi Saver and give the workers a tax cut, great just what we need done to our retirement funds. Government Super is a concept of the past and we have just initiated Kiwi Saver. A possible next government, being national lead, wants to take a slice already of what meager funds we as a country have there. Kiwi Saver is the best concept the working class of this country has had since the government abolished Government Super. We have Jim Anderton and Labour to thank for that it seems like John Key will want to sell Kiwi Bank next and that’s another dilemma the voters are going to have to think about on polling day. I believe they should leave Kiwi Saver alone it’s a corner stone of the working class after all they take enough tax off the working class as it is. National like the rest of us know the economy is on a downturn taking a slice of Kiwi Saver does not show foresight to the working class cause. I say leave the money there and Mr. Key leave Kiwi Bank alone before you start. Whom ever the next government be they are in for a hard time financially with financial systems crippled worldwide whom ever they be need to make growth financially rather than simply raiding the Kiwi Saver piggy bank. So far this election we have not seen any of the parties with a planned solution, it makes me worry because it seems like they will take what ever they can to make the books balance. None of the parties have put a road map as to where our financial systems are going to go. It seems like the parties are saying just about anything to get into power. All partisan promises but nothing solid, it feels as though they are all vying for a share of the spotlight promising promises that won’t take fruitition, Promises that will take the vote of more than one party to make into actual fact law. The interest rate will be cut house prices will drop that we know now what surprises will the next ruling coalition have I bet we wont hear much until the next government is voted in. For whom ever the next ruling coalition is they are in for a hard term, they are going to be forecasted with turning round the current financial predicament. Hopefully we won’t see too many changes but if Mr. Key does get in and decides to cut Kiwi Saver to save the immediate situation it will be a great shame for the future of the current working class.

We need our Politicians to show results when they get voted in I have a feeling when our new government does become there will be little said about our financial situation least not until we see an upturn in the economy.

4 days after the US Election, New Zealand decides if John Key and the right wing conservative National party takes the reigns from Helen Clark’s Labour that has won 3 elections snatching together a minority Government with astute negotiations, and better timing consigning National to the opposition.

Half way though this 3 year term, the Nats changed leader, putting ex currency trader merchant banker from Merril Lynch John Key.  Suddenly his credentials became a curse as Merril become an early casuality of the great financial meltdown.  He had achieved a 14 point lead over Labour and as the election approaches this lead has been steadily whittled away.  It may be even already.  It is still hard to predict anything but a National win.  It does seem rather obvious that the country is better served in this crisis by Labour than the mind of a merchant banker.

The UK Government is considering nationalising the banking system to the tune of 500 billion pounds. Unlike the US president’s rather unpleasantly necessary but hopeful addition of 700 billion US dollars buying up the worthless investments and derivatives based on them, securities pulled out of the sky and issued under his watch for eight long years of economic erosion.

Sure, the policy was put into train by the Bill Clinton democrats. Sure, while CDOs and CDCs or whatever abbreviation they can blame it on next – were the democrats embracing the best sounding hybrid with right wing economics – but tiring of achieiving right wing goals with left wing policies – they voted in a leader who spoke his mind and did the “obvious”.

Like an impatient chess player who moves and then says “hurry up, it’s your turn!” as though thinking could only ever be instinct – the most self-assured bonehead was about to lead America obilvious of the grand bubble forming in the religiously trusted “market”. One where the same insurance asset was sold by people that had no insurable interest in an event such as the failure of a major bank – thus acclerating the effect of the crashes. The future suddenly to have collected an atmophere of dust ridden bleakness contrasting with the startled images of stock broker road-kill thumping their collective forehead with both wrists. It’s a world suddenly exposed to what these over zealous self focused knuckheads were sometimes aware they were doing – selling fictitious contracts which if given a serial number and controlled by the law would have been sold but once by one party, not fourty thousand times to fouty thousand disinterested parties getting in on the action.

Gordon Brown may not have the finesse of Tony Blair, indeed the team that steamrollered Bush back into power when history could have persuaded a stronger intellect back in the decision making chair – and would perhaps would have looked more critically at the “markets” and reacted earlier to the growing theft of funds from the US taxpayer by individuals who suffered terrifically such huge payouts before being thrown out on to the street. Without a job. Poor dears. What about the army of support staff you leave unemployed – why not just lead a normal life like the rest of us?

Gordon Brown was held away from leadership by Blair until the crest of the wave had passed, and Brown seemed a coward rather than the heroic leader Britain expects. Has he now shown why he is there – to do nothing to support the withering financial sector, but to partially buy into it, so the taxpayer’s 50 billion pounds buys back a slice of the banking industry, and probably at a lower price than the industry would have settled for four, even – two weeks ago. Now that is a cloud with a silver or perhaps gold lining. Brown’s popularity may well recover as a result of this single commitment to public ownership of the banking system. Masterful genius.

Compared to the Bush republican approach – bail the market out by buying up all the poison – he seems to want to “solve the problem in a single masterstroke” but he does not understand the math – here is 700 billion dollars to guarantee the false loans the industry has issued? The 63 trillion in derivatives that may easily collapse seems to signals the abrubt end of Bush era and a goodly number of the more adventurous in the hybrid banking sector are thus rewarded for 63 trillion of losses that are meaningless and have been spent with casinos and race tracks. The “common sense” that keeps us voting for “conservative” government allows corruption and conditions to develop which in retrospect most would regret. Some right wing freedom is good. When it is not financially literate and makes rash moves like buying bad mortgages – he is basically contributing some liquidity which will simply become engaged the the demands of the corrupt morrass of debt. Let the derivates lose all value and leave the market alone, Mr Bush – you are reminding me of Robert Muldoon – of New Zealand – who was a bit drunk sometimes, and prone to support the ideas of vested interests and positions against foreign exchange problems and deficits that his actions only really made far far worse. The last time New Zealand had a prime minister as a finance minister was a tragedy and a disaster. What is most interesting about Muldoon as a right wing PM of Nixonian dimensions – was – so reactive and so prone to “do the obvious” (like introduce a price and wage freeze – yeah right) that his style and result of his government was more socialist than Mao. He seemed to act progressively more and more against the meaning of his ticket. Then he was landslided out of office by the Lange administration that had a very right wing monitarist dryer than Thatcher and far more astute – leading NZ into the modern world of indirect taxation and foreign investment.

The pendulum has gone backwards. If that is possible, but the Clarke Labour government, much criticised for no particular reason except almost that some have “tired” of her and want “something fresh”. This asinine politic reminds one of Bush putting out the fire by throwing cash at it.

Contrasted with Brown, a Labour leader doing the Labour thing – takes the bank partly back under the crown.

and
La Clinton

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La Palin


Perhaps this is the most brutal view of the debate yet, cut up by Mr Letterman.

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Miss Fey